It could be worse, Minnesota: 50 inches of snow falls on Wisconsin town

Yes, Minnesota has already taken a punch on the chin with this early round of winter. An early chill rolled in and portions of the north metro and central Minnesota were buried under about a foot of snow. Duluth also got hit, picking up more than half a foot.

But it could be worse. About four or five times worse, depending on where you live.

Across Minnesota's eastern border, about 100 miles into Wisconsin along Lake Superior's south shore, residents in Gile (a neighborhood in the city of Montreal) have reported – and this is not a typo – 50.1 inches of snow this week.

Why did this happen? The Duluth News Tribune says conditions were "nearly perfect" for the creation of lake-effect snow in that area of Wisconsin. Lake effect snow occurs when cold air sweeps over a relatively warm body of water, which creates clouds that then drop buckets of precipitation, the Weather Channel explains.

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And of course, the people on the receiving end need shovels and snowblowers.

Kare 11's Sven Sundgaard says a snowstorm might brush the Twin Cities this weekend, with the southeastern suburbs seeing 1 to 3 inches while just a few flakes dust the northwestern burbs. The National Weather Service in Chanhassen and the Star Tribune's Paul Douglas are bringing us similar forecasts.